by Ash Night
I thought for a second. "He was going to find the nearest cart shop."
"Oh, Sayan's Rentals? I know where that is. It's halfway across the city, though. Hope you're up for a walk."
Liam groaned. "More walking?"
I swatted him playfully. "We rode in a magicart all day. What do you mean?"
"Speaking of all day, it feels like forever since I've eaten. Let's ditch Cuff Boy and eat."
"He's probably hungry too. Especially after driving like a maniac. He probably drove faster than you!"
Liam actually looked offended. "He did not! I was a thousand times faster than that idiot!"
Groaning in frustration, I followed Kat, who was already several steps ahead. "Whatever helps you sleep at night. I'm just disappointed I didn't get to try it."
"Try what?" Kat once again turned around so she was walking backwards while talking. I was amazed that it didn't seem to slow her pace even a little bit.
"The magicart," I said. "It has a magic siphon and— I should probably mention, we all have our magic."
A wide smile crept onto her face. "Fellow Sealbreaker."
"Yup." I let my magic rise a bit to meet hers. Her magic mingled with mine and my body began to tingle.
"I've always wanted to use one of those magicarts. The dusklings are such beautiful animals. My master had a stable full of them. I was never allowed to care for them. Ezell did that. He was so very lucky." A sad look crossed her face. "Ezell was so cute. Looked a lot like you, Liam. Same black hair, blue eyes. But he was an elf and a few inches shorter."
"Must have been one handsome guy," Liam mused, winking at Kat,
Kat giggled, but then the sad look returned. "He and I would play games whenever the master and lady were away. He, um…" She cleared her throat. "Was sold a year before I ran away. After that, I had no one."
"I'm sorry," I said. "But you have us now, if you want to come along." Although I knew it wasn't my place to offer, I couldn't help it. Cam would know why I'd offered. Kat seemed like a genuinely good person. Hopefully, he wouldn't revoke my invitation.
Kat's already big eyes seemed to widen more. She stopped in her tracks. "Y—you mean that? Truly?"
"Of course," Liam replied. I was grateful I at least had his approval. This time, Liam and I both received bone-crushing hugs. I smiled. Her hugs were definitely growing on me.
"Thank you! Thank you both so very much! I'm so happy to have met such wonderful, accepting friends!" Her eyes shone with tears. "I couldn't ask for a better gift from the Goddess herself!"
It was my turn to hug Kat. "You're welcome, my friend."
"Cam has a plan to overthrow King Artimis and get everyone's magic back," Liam said as we kept walking. "We're going to help him. Still in?"
"Of course!" Kat replied. "Fighting is fun!"
"Another one? Am I the insane one for not liking violence?"
"Yes, but I've been saying that for years."
Kat hugged my shoulders as we walked. Her beautiful scarlet hair brushed against my cheek. She smelled of sweet pea flowers and pastries. Not at all what I imagined a homeless succubus to smell like. "Don't worry, Serena." She bared her teeth in a bloodthirsty grin. "You'll learn to love it!" She and Liam laughed.
I tried to smile as I tried to push away the uneasy feeling in my stomach, remembering my dream from the other night. What if I did like it once I actually fought? What if I accidently killed someone? Magic was hard to control. Just look at my first three attempts. I nearly kill a guard while trying to knock him out. I was almost squeezed to death by a vine that I'd created. And yesterday, I swallowed half a pond all because I wasn't paying attention to how much magic I was using. I was a mess. I needed to start using my magic more, learn to control it until I could control as easily as I took a breath.
"What's your magic specialty?" I asked Kat, changing the subject.
She smirked, tossing her hair back. "I'm a healer. And a— Well, I'd rather show you." We stopped and stared at her as she stood in front of us.
Closing her eyes, she took a breath and went completely still. In the blink of an eye, a second Liam was standing in front of us.
"Well, what do you think?" Kat asked in Liam's voice. She giggled. I laughed out loud. Hearing Liam giggle was one of the funniest things I'd ever heard.
Liam walked around Kat, examining himself. "That is fuckin' badass! I’ve never imagined I’d get to see myself like this. We have to play a trick on Cuff Boy! Can you transform into people you've never met?"
Kat transformed back into herself as easily as slipping out of a pair of loose-fitting pants. "Yes, if I have an item of theirs to connect with."
"What about this?" I asked, holding up the sign-up sheet I’d stuffed in my bag earlier. "He made this."
"Interesting, usually I'd use an article of clothing. But this might work." She skimmed the sheet. "Oooh, this is very detailed. I take it he's passionate about his work?"
"Very."
Yeah, sometimes he doesn't even eat. Who forgets that?" Liam asked, as if being so engrossed in something that one forgot to eat was unfathomable to him. It probably was. While Liam was passion about things, his food clock was very prompt. He'd sooner be late to his own funeral than a meal.
"Do I get to sign one?” Kat asked before closing her eyes. This time, the change wasn't instantaneous. A puzzled look crossed her face. She looked almost angry. Then, it happened.
It was as if Cam was standing right next to us. Sans Shadowsilver cuffs.
"This look like him?" Kat asked in her own voice. "I'm afraid the voice is impossible to copy unless I've heard it before."
Liam gave her a high-five. "It's perfect. This is going to be awesome. He's gonna freak!"
Kat's smile threatened to crack her face as she changed back. "Ezell would have loved to be in on a prank like this! He loved pranks. It's been so long since I've done one!"
"You'll give him a heart attack he won't soon forget," I replied.
"The best part about turning into him is that in my mind I saw what he looks like."
A familiar snort made me pause. The magicart we had been using was parked outside a small cottage wedged between two buildings that seemed tall enough to touch the clouds. I recognized the Laser Leads on the dusklings' halters. Kat stopped when she noticed us staring at the magicart.
"Something wrong?" she asked.
"That's the cart Cam was supposed to drop off." I was confused. What was it doing here? This didn’t look like a rental place. There wasn’t even a sign outside.
Kat walked up to the dusklings. "Hi, pretty boys. You're such pretty boys, aren't you?" She scratched them behind their ears.
"Hey!" Liam shouted indignantly. "It took me fifteen minutes just to get close to them. And you didn't even have an apple."
"He says it's because you're a dirty boy. They only like beautiful woman." Kat chuckled. The duskling she was petting whinnied in agreement.
"Wait, he said that to you?" Liam looked at her like she'd just grown a second head.
She smirked. "I can also talk to animals. When you're as lonely as me, you adapt and talk with the only creatures around who will listen."
Shaking his head, he walked up the three small wooden steps to the door. He raised his fist to knock when I asked, "What are you doing?"
"Asking if the owner of this house is in trouble. For all we know, Cuff Boy is in there, forcing them to watch as he shows off some stupid trick."
"How do you even know Cam is inside? Maybe he gave the cart back and someone rented it."
He turned his head to look at Kat, raising an eyebrow.
Kat whispered something in the duskling's ear. It neighed. She smiled. "Yup, he's in there."
Liam smirked at me before knocking twice.
"Yes, yes, what is it? I have a patient." An older woman answered the door, looking none too pleased to see Liam.
She looked like she hadn't entertained guests in a while. Her waist-length gray hair was thick and almos
t matted to her back. Her clothes were little more than rags, tight against her plump belly. Her teeth were the color of rotting wood.
Liam stepped back when she breathed, or more like hissed, in his face. "Well, boy? Speak!"
His nose wrinkled. I resisted the urge to laugh at him. Kat was giggling quietly behind me. Recovering his composure, he cleared his throat and tried his best to look the intimidating woman in the eye. "Um, yes, I'm wondering if you've seen a boy. Cocky ass— I mean, idiot, Reddish-brown hair, black jacket."
"Shadowsilver cuffs? Yeah, that foolish kid is inside. Found him passed out in the street. Does he belong to you kids?"
I heard Kat gasp softly as she mentioned Shadowsilver. The old woman glanced in our direction and I jumped, as if I had been caught doing something wrong rather than just standing there. Her sharp, bird-like eyes looked me up and down and I could tell, despite having hid the presence of my magic like Liam had shown me, that she knew I was a Sealbreaker. I got the impression there was little this woman didn't know.
"Well, don't just stand there! Come in before the wind blows out all my candles. I'm an old woman. I don't have the time to waste relighting them all!" she barked at us. All three of jumped, heading inside quickly. Even the dusklings stopped munching on the grain in the trough in front of them to look up at her.
The small cottage seemed to have been made out of a Packing Kit, if that were possible. It was much bigger on the inside and packed to the brim with things. Scraps of what appeared to be notes—comprehensible to only the author, it seemed—littered the floor, along with books—some opened while others were closed and stacked in no particular order. The front room, the living room from what I could gather from a quick scan of the messy surroundings, broke off into the kitchen on one side while the other side led to a darkened hallway.
The kitchen, what little I could see of it before the wall blocked my view, was a disaster. Dirty pots and pans cluttered the counter on the side of the sink that I could see, but I assumed the other side was just as overtaken. The stove was just as overwhelmed with dingy metal pots stacked precariously high, leaving only the lower right burner functional.
If it functions, I thought to myself as I turned my attention to the back of the living room. A dark redwood door with an ebony black doorknob piqued my interest. It reminded me of Master's Cisco's hidden study. My heart sank at the thought of him. I hoped that strange woman—who had so rudely yelled at Liam about talking to her after he had seen so much death that it didn't phrase him anymore—was taking care of Lily and Daisy.
The older woman led us through the red door and I gasped. Cam was lying on a wide coffee table on his back, breathing evenly, his shirt and jacket off, exposing his torso. But his burns. Oh Goddess... his burns.
Familiar angry blotches seared his wrists, flaring out halfway down his forearms, but that wasn't the worst of it. The burn marks trailed in thin lines, wrapping around each arm and they widened around his ribcage like a thick, scabbed band. His forehead was dripping with sweat, whether from fever or the heat of the room I couldn't tell.
The only light in the cramped room came from dozens of candles, all varying colors and heights, spread all over the large space. Wall-to-wall bookshelves sprawled before me. Older people were really into their books. The lady smiled, the first genuine smile I'd ever seen on her face, once she saw me turn toward the books.
"Bookworm, eh, girl?"
I nodded. "Yes, very much so."
"Well," she said, dabbing at Cam's face with a damp cloth, "feel free to read as many as you like. Thanks to your idiot friend here, you may be here awhile. Didn't anyone teach him that using magic so recklessly while wearing activated Shadowsilver wasn't a smart idea? Does he have a death wish?"
"Death wish?" Liam asked. "They're just superficial burns, aren't they?"
Before I could be too impressed that Liam had used the word superficial correctly, the old woman let out a raspy laugh. "You, my boy, have a lot to learn. Shadowsilver, well, activated Shadowsilver, is a lot more deadly than the government wants us to believe. If word got out just how deadly it was, there would be riots. Protesters would claim that 'it's inhumane,' 'cruel and unusual punishment,' they'd say."
"Isn't it?" Kat asked, spinning a surprisingly polished brass globe in the corner.
"I didn't say it wasn't. You see, Shadowsilver poisons the blood. Again, only activated, of course. The burning the user, or maybe the more appropriate term is victim, feels when the Shadowsilver is first activated is the body acclimating to the forced suppression of magic."
It's been a week. It doesn't burn as much now... Cam's words from the conversation we had the day I met him echoed in my head. It made sense now.
"The magic suppression is similar to that of when a Seal is place upon the body," she looked at us, “though I suppose none of you spring chickens have any memory of what that was like, do you?" Despite her hardened expression, there was a hint of envy in her deep brown eyes.
"Is that why it hurt so much to break it?" Liam asked as he sat in a ragged old armchair that looked ready to fall apart.
She nodded, clearly already fed up with the questions. "Correct. The pain one feels when the Seal is broken is the sudden rush of magic flooding your veins. When you've been underwater for an extended period of time, air is blocked from escaping. Your chest hurts, feels almost as if it’s ready to explode. The sudden intake of air burns at first when you reach the surface. Your body reacts to the sudden intake of magic much the same way. It's like a dam bursting from a flood of water. The older the dam, the less likely chance of survival, you could say."
“That’s why older creatures die trying to break their Seals?”
“Inquisitive, dear bookworm.”
I blushed at her compliment. Something told me the sentiment from her was rare and I should appreciate it.
Cam stirred, drawing my attention away from the books. "Serena..."
"Yes?" I asked, kneeling in front of him.
The woman waved me away dismissively with a wrinkled hand. "Pay him no mind, little bookworm. He's been muttering that name all night, but he’s not even conscious. I assume that's you."
"It is," I said.
Her eyes sparkled with interest. "So, tell me, little bookworm. Why is your friend running around with activated Shadowsilver clamped to his wrists? Interesting fashion choice for one so clearly fond of his magic." Her thin lips curved upward, hinting at a smile.
"It's not his choice, ma'am. He—" I paused, unsure of how much to reveal. It didn't feel like my story to tell.
She leaned back in a dusty rocking chair that appeared to be even older than her. "It's not like I bite, you know. I may seem scary, but trust me, my bark has become much worse than my bite over the years. You should have seen me back in the day. I was fierce. But, like many others, I lost that the day of the Sealing. I never imagined I'd find a Crossfire offspring passed out in the street like some damn angel of hope. It stirred a fire in me I thought had long since died out." She chuckled to herself.
"What?!" Kat exclaimed. "Crossfire offspring? Him?" She looked at Cam with wide eyes that glittered in the candlelight.
Laughter burst from the old lady and she put her hands on her knees. "I would never forget a face like his. If I hadn't watched Kalden Crossfire burn with my very eyes, I would have dared to dream that he..." She quickly closed her misty eyes, shuddering as she suppressed a sob.
My heart went out to her as I watched her struggle to keep her emotions in check. From what I'd heard, the day Kalden died was an emotional day for many. Questions buzzed in my mind like angry bees. Refraining from asking them was nearly impossible.
"He...burned?" Liam asked. "I thought he was killed by the firing squad. Mary-Beth died shortly after because a Shadow Knight, one a part of the group that had killed him, shot her. He was taken into custody and shot in front the king, right?"
"The damn government will have the public believe just about anything," she snapped, gla
ring at Liam. "Believe me, boy. Kalden died by fire. I can still hear his screams.” She closed her eyes again. When she opened them, she had a fierce look in her eye. "Kalden was as near death as you could get when they found him. They brought him to the royal dungeon, starved him for a week. He was supposed to be completely drained of magic by then, but then again, Kalden always was full of surprises. I was the one that had to tell him his wife was dead. Poor soul. Didn't shed a tear. Just looked at the dirty floor, as though he could tunnel through sheer rock to freedom and then bring her back to life. I could tell in that moment that he truly loved her. He wasn't merely tricking some poor girl so he could have someone to die by his side, like most thought."
"You were part of the royal guard?" Liam asked.
She looked annoyed. "I was young once, boy. We all were. I was a spy, actually, sent to double-cross King Artimis. Most of the royal guard, or at least the crop I knew, wanted him dead. It took years to gain his trust. I threw that all away the day Kalden died."
"Our village elder told us he had Shadowsilver cuffs on him the day he died."
Her gaze flickered to the cuffs around Cam's wrists. "Yes. It didn't stop him from murdering the man that killed his wife either. I was never sure how he knew, but he knew the moment he saw him. Ten guards fell that day to Kalden Crossfire's last wave of magic. It was a thing of beauty, the loss of control. That scream of rage... I swear to the Goddess herself, that scream of rage shook the earth beneath our feet. I'd never felt anything so powerful. It broke my heart to watch him fall to his knees, spent, magically and emotionally. His passionate eyes, the ones that had given everyone so much hope, were blank and lifeless. Those eyes haunt my dreams. Won't matter how long I live."
My heart sank as I heard the listless hopelessness in her voice. It had been three hundred years since his death and it still hit this woman like a punch to the gut whenever she talked about it. "I'm sorry..."
She laughed bitterly. "You act as if it's my loss alone, little bookworm. It was not. It was everyone's loss."
"It was," Kat said. "My master spoke of Kalden in hushed whispers. He said that he was a devil in Fae form, that he had wanted to free the slaves. I’m only twenty-three years old, but that would have saved not just myself but my mother, my father, and their parents, who knows how many generations, from the bonds of slavery. If he had—" Her voice caught in her throat. She swallowed painfully. “If he had succeeded, I may never have known the sting of a whip…”